Jealousy
by TL-chan
Summary: Even a girl like Sparkle would be unhappy when her brother would rather spend time with someone else.


**AN:** This is some Lumen and Sparkle fluff, by request. Set post-series. There isn't nearly enough about these characters (not that I can talk when I write nonstop BxA. They don't even appear in this story.) It's a little short, but if I ever think of something longer, I might write another. Something is sort of on my mind, but it's a really, really loose idea. I'll update my Flipped story later or tomorrow, but based on the views/reviews no one's reading it anyway.

* * *

The impossible had finally happened. Lumen had gotten a girlfriend. Not just the kind that he flirted with once and then they never saw each other again. An actual, steady girlfriend. Her name was Pearl, and she was a beautiful silver-haired girl who lived within Arachna Kingdom. She was a responsible young lady, or at least came off that way, but she found Lumen's laziness endearing, and they hit it off right away.

Not surprisingly, Lumen was elated. As a prince, he was always ready and willing to treat her to the best, and the two were regularly out on dates. This day was no exception.

Sparkle, on the other hand, was back at Arachna castle. She was half lying down, using Hotarla as a pillow, and tossing up and down her black sparkling sphere.

"Kyu…" Hotarla could tell her partner wasn't her usual cheerful self. The spider too felt down because of this.

"Hotarla…" Sparkle answered back, without much enthusiasm in her voice. "It's not fair." She missed catching her ball by accident, and it started rolling away. She didn't care enough to go and retrieve it.

Igneous and Magma were training with each other nearby, and they spotted the ball as it rolled in their direction.

"Hey, you dropped this!" Magma called, and threw it back to her. Although this took Sparkle by surprise, she managed to catch it. But as this was occurring, the two older boys also noticed how unhappy Sparkle looked.

"Thank you," Sparkle said. She wanted to be polite, at the very least.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Magma said. "Did you want to train with us?"

Sparkle shook her head. "No, it's not that. I'm sorry if I'm worrying you."

"Then, what?" Magma continued, concerned but genuinely confused.

"It's Lumen," Sparkle said. "He's never around anymore. I miss him."

"That's true, isn't it?" Igneous spoke. He rather missed having the prince around the castle too, so he could definitely sympathize.

"Oh, I get it. You're jealous," Magma responded.

Sparkle looked up at him in confusion.

"Magma, what are you saying?" Igneous replied in Sparkle's place. That seemed a bit uncalled for to him.

"Hey, it's pretty obvious," Magma said. "Lumen always gets jealous too, when you're with your Uncle Hop."

"He does?" Sparkle questioned.

"Kyu?" Echoed Hotarla.

"Of course," Magma said. "You guys are brother and sister. You're going to be closer to each other than anyone, so it's natural to get jealous when one of you starts giving more attention to someone else. At least, that's the way I think it would be." His voice trailed off a little, as he was reminded of his own little sister.

"That's right, you had sibling too didn't you, Magma?" Sparkle asked. "What was she like?"

He paused for a minute, wondering how to put it. Even if it had been years since he last saw her, he could still remember her vividly.

"She was always cheerful, playful, and she loved the world," Magma said. "She had a lot of friends, because she could see the good in anyone. Actually, she was a lot like you."

"Really?" asked Sparkle.

"Mhm," said Magma.

"I wish I could have met her."

"You would have gotten along," Magma continued. "But well… that doesn't really solve your problem now, does it?"

"Not really," Sparkle replied. "But, I feel a little better. I didn't realize, all this time, I was making Lumen feel jealous. I think I'll find him and go apologize."

Igneous immediately wondered to himself if that was a good idea. If Lumen was on a date right now, he probably wouldn't want to be interrupted, even by Sparkle. But he wasn't sure what to say.

"Umm…" he began, stepping closer.

"Igneous, we really must get back to training," Magma said, playfully wrapping an arm around his comrade. He realized what Igneous was thinking, and wasn't about to let him interfere. This was something Lumen and Sparkle had to work out on their own, and he trusted they could do it.

* * *

The place Lumen had gone on his date was a trendy marketplace in the nearest village. Sparkle had known Lumen would be there, so it wasn't hard to find him. And when she and Hotarla did spot him, he was standing by a fancy fruit stall with his head down.

"Lumen!" she called.

"Kyu! Kyu!"

"Sparkle?" Lumen wondered, shocked. Though, he was rather happy to see her.

"Lumen, I'm so sorry!" She threw her arms around him, nearly knocking him down in the process.

"Why are you sorry?" Lumen asked, once he'd regained his balance.

"Huh?" Sparkle answered, letting go of him. "Because I made you jealous. All the times when I'm with Uncle Hop. I didn't realize you were unhappy."

"Oh," Lumen said, laughing a little. That came completely out of nowhere to him, but he did appreciate the apology.

"I love being with Uncle Hop, but I love being with you too," she continued. "You love Pearl too. I can tell. But when you're done with your date, I also want to spend some time with you. And Hotarla too." She would have felt bad to leave her spider out.

"Umm… actually…" Lumen was twitching, and his eyes looked shaky.

"Lumen, are you alright?" Sparkle asked worriedly.

"Pearl broke up with me," Lumen said, dejected. He felt like crying, and probably would have if his loving sister wasn't in front of him.

"What?!" Sparkle exclaimed. "But why?"

"She met another guy," mumbled Lumen. "He was big and muscular and a show off. Pearl said he was really her type and left me on the street."

"That's terrible!" Sparkle shouted. She wanted to cheer him up somehow. "But… you'll always have me!"

"I know that," Lumen said. He smiled at her. True, Sparkle wasn't a girlfriend, but that didn't change the fact that she was his favorite girl to be with. She mattered more than any date.

"Now that we're out, why don't we explore the town together?" Sparkle asked.

"I was thinking the same thing," Lumen said. "Where would you like to go? Do you want to get something to eat?"

"I'll go anywhere you want," Sparkle said, cheerfully. She took her brother by the hand.

'Well, where I want to go is the nearest bed,' Lumen thought to himself. But he was sure he could think of something they would both have fun doing.


End file.
